KEPCO holds stakeholders forum

CEBU, Philippines — KEPCO SPC Power Corporation conducted its regular stakeholders forum on August 20 at the City of Naga, Cebu, where its 200 MW coal-fired power plant is located.

Local and barangay officials of the City of Naga, representatives from the DENR-EMB–Region 7, KSPC Multi-Partite Monitoring Team, Philippine Coast Guard, and NGOs, such as the Philippine Earth Justice Center, Central Visayas Fisher Folk Development Center, Global Legal Action Against Climate Change, and Freedom from Debt Coalition, attended the semi-annual activity, which is the first for this year.

“Through this activity, KSPC could present its Social Development Program and Corporate Social Responsibility projects. This also serves as an avenue for KSPC stakeholders to raise their concerns and suggestions for discussion with our company,” said Engr. Victorio Naval, KSPC General Manager for Community and Public Relation Department.

The presentation included the coal-fired power plant’s globally-accepted circulating fluidized-bed combustion (CFBC) technology, which meets the stringent environmental standards of the Philippine Clean Air Act and of the World Bank, and the review of KSPC’s environmental performance for the first half of 2018.

KSPC representatives highlighted the power plant’s environment-friendly features, such as low carbon footprint due to efficient combustion, low sulfur emission because of the limestone feeding and lower combustion temperature, low nitrogen oxide emissions due to staged combustion and fluidization, efficient dispersion of air pollutants due to 110-meters high chimney, and an electronic precipitator that collects 99.99% of ash dust.

These features allow KSPC to regularly comply with all local and global environmental standards, as could be seen in the review of KSPC’s environmental performance for the first half of 2018, according to Naval.

Aside from providing 200 MW of reliable and affordable power thru its environment-friendly technology, KSPC also regularly undertakes environmental and outreach activities. Among these are tree-planting and coastal clean-up, medical missions and donations of medicine and medical equipment to local health centers, and feeding programs, school supplies distribution, scholarships and other services to local schools. 

Naval emphasized that KSPC regularly conducts forums and public consultations with its stakeholders, not just because it is mandated in by law, but because it is KSPC’s commitment to the community to give updates and to be transparent with its operations. 

“Regularly conducting our Information-Education-Communication Activity is part of KSPC’s commitment to develop harmonious relationship with our stakeholders,” he added.

Since starting its commercial operation in 2011, KSPC’s power plant has been supplying the power needs of all the five electric cooperatives in Negros Island (CENECO, NONECO & NOCECO in Negros Occidental, and NORECO I & NORECO II in Negros Oriental), the Island of Mactan (MECO), and the southern and northern parts of Cebu (CEBECO I & CEBECO II).